A project that you undertake as an interior designer or interior decorator needs to be given full attention from your side. It is not possible that you do something half heartedly and achieve great results. You should not feel afraid of designing and decoration. Believe in yourself and also in the design that you have planned to create for your home. There can be many ways of starting a new project. You can start with paint, furniture or even the curtains and upholstery in the room. The whole point of the matter is to find the right thread to get started with. Once you do, the rest of the project would become easier to accomplish.

If you are going through the dilemma of where to start the decoration from, we advise you to first make a plan. Most of the people would not bother much about planning and start decorating their new projects just like that. This would only make your projects look awful. Most likely you would realize your mistake when it’s too late and the results would be equally bad. Once you start planning, it would be very easy for you to know where to begin your project. Here are some tips that would make interior decorating a breeze for you.

Don’t believe the shade of the paint that you see in the paint store. The excessive fluorescent lighting at these stores would make the paint shade look different from what it actually is. As a result of this, you would likely face many problems in decorating your home. As an interior decorator, you should have a good sense of color. Check how the color looks in natural light as well as the artificial light available in the house. Decide what you want to buy only after doing this test.

Don’t think that you will be able to fit in everything somehow. This is one of the biggest blunders that interior designers often make. This is usually a result of lack of planning as well as lack of self control. Maybe you are able to buy a great bargain in the furniture store and think that you would be able to use the extra items of furniture in the room without any hassles. However, when you come back to the project site, you might find that the story is completely different than what you thought it would be.

Measure the dimensions of every room that you are going to decorate. Don’t buy anything for the room or plan anything for it unless you have the real and accurate dimensions of the space available with you. Working with approximate dimensions will always lead to bad results, especially in the case of furniture items.

Swatches are essential for every interior designer. You should not only keep fabric swatches of different varieties but you must also keep the swatches and templates of paints. This would be very helpful when you are discussing with your clients or when you go to shop for supplies.

Is this your first interior design and décor project? Congratulations. We feel really proud of you. However, before you embark upon this new journey in your life, here are some of the pitfalls that you should avoid. Don’t forget to read them all.

Never invest in trends

Yes. That is true. Most of the trends don’t even last for a few weeks. They would change as soon as the seasons do. You will have something less to bank upon each time a trend changes. Your designs will become old very easily and the client might easily believe that he did not get a good deal from you. So should you ignore trends completely? Not always. Include trends in cushions or maybe curtains. Things that can be changed easily can follow trends. You can take hints from the trends as well. But don’t follow them blindly.

Mismatched furniture is not needed

Don’t buy furniture that does not match well with your theme. The client might wish to keep some of his old furniture in the room. This might not match with the new theme that you are working on. Better talk to the client and tell him the problem. It would help in resolving conflicts later on. You can suggest some kind of renovation for the furniture which might include painting it or staining the old wood. Match things with each other to get the best look.

Extravagance is not about the best

You will definitely come across many extravagant pieces of furniture and décor for your house. Do not put too much stress on your resources and buy only those things that bring you value for your money. The most extravagant things you own will never last for years and while creating interior décor, you have to ensure the same. So don’t waste your funds unnecessarily and focus on simpler and subtler themes.

Focus on the details

As an interior designer, you should definitely think about focusing on the smaller details as much as possible. Don’t be too bothered with the details as you would definitely keep on changing things continuously. Instead of this, make sure that the smaller items of décor like a flower vase or your books are placed neatly in the bookcase. Also make sure that you pay attention to create an environment that looks peaceful and harmonious. Anything less than this is not desirable.

As a first time interior designer, things could get messy for you. Always make sure that you have noting down each and every expense you are making and also cite the reasons why you did something instead of the other in the room. The better you are at record keeping, the better it would be to manage your projects. Hence, find some inspiration, keep in touch with the trends of your industry and make sure that you are bringing the best designs for your clients. The more you follow these principles, the better results you will get from your projects.

In the last post of this series, we will be focusing on some more mistakes that new designers might make in their first few projects. Always remember that mistakes can easily be avoided through the right knowledge. Take a look:

Forcing a color scheme is a no-no

If things do not match, don’t make them match forcefully. This happens very often when designers want to give accents to their designs. You could easily fall into the trap of forced color schemes without even realizing it. Let us assume that you have a red sofa. If you have to buy cushion covers for this sofa, you don’t have to find anything red. Black, white and other bold colors and patterns will look better here. In order to avoid the blunders of forced color schemes, you should first decide the family of colors that you will use. Choose a theme and a few theme colors. At any time, you should at least have the option of 5 colors that can be mixed and matched in order to create the perfect décor.

Your room needs a focal point

No matter how beautifully you have decorated a room, it would not look beautiful unless it has a focal point. The focal point in a bedroom could be its canopy bed while for a huge living room with many smaller spaces, it could be a fireplace, mantle or even a huge artwork. This focal point also needs to be decided in advance if you want to create a good design. Without a focal point, a room often looks like a collection of scattered identities and this is not a very pleasant design either.

The furniture and walls should not touch each other

This is one of the most common mistakes that designers make. You do not have to let the furniture stand next to the walls. They think that doing so would make the room look bigger. The reality is totally opposite to this. You would notice that the room looks bigger when there is sufficient space between the walls and the furniture. The room looks more spacious in this way.

No barriers

Always make space in the room. Interior designing is not about filling up a space with furniture and décor items. You also have to ensure that there is sufficient space to move in the room. There should be no barriers in the room. Don’t let a chair obstruct the closing or opening of a door. This creates a negative impression.

Cheap is not the best

When you go shopping for any project, you will come across the cheapest as well as the most expensive varieties of décor in the market. The best thing to do here is to avoid both the extremes, especially the cheaper ones. Things are cheap because they use lower quality of materials. Look for something reasonable that can also last fairly long. Don’t think that you will create a magical décor theme with the cheapest items of the lot.

In the previous post, we read about some mistakes that interior designers can make in the beginning of their career. We also suggested you some ways in which these mistakes can be avoided so that you and your clients are satisfied with your design. Here are some other mistakes that new interior designers can make and also the ways in which they can be avoided.

Bold is the way to go

As per the latest trends in furniture and home décor, going bold has become customary in almost all kinds of interior designs. You don’t have to settle for something safe and traditional. Now, you can experiment with usual shapes, designs, sizes and even with prints and colors. Do not be afraid to bring this small dash of eccentricity in your designs. They would look striking as well as amazing. Go with some bold patterns even in the most traditional designs and see how beautiful your design looks.

The primary color is not your favorite color

Just like all other people, interior designers could also be very biased towards some colors. The wish to work with your favorite color is always a tempting choice for most of the designers. However, you have to focus on the colors that look the best in a particular setting and not the colors that you like. You need to look for colors that could easily pop in the client’s home, given his likes and lighting conditions. Often, subtler shades look far better in homes than bright colors. So keep this thing in mind while decorating.

Color psychology is important

Did you think that you will paint the biggest wall in the room in bright red? Think again. You need to focus a lot on the psychology of color. Don’t paint a living room in deep dark blue as it could make the people feel depressed. Instead of this, opt for more cheerful colors like yellows and oranges. Red will never make you feel relaxed. This color should be used sparingly in the room. In fact, it looks better in entertainment rooms and other such places where you need some activity. Kids’ rooms are better for red. Again, don’t color everything in red. Yellow is a cheerful color while blue works for relaxation. Green is also a calming color. Check these things out before you paint.

All colors have undertones

Not all colors would be as simple as they look like. Take the example of white. Some whites are completely off white while some others have undertones of yellow. Some blues may have undertones of red while some greens may have undertones of yellow. Almost all colors have undertones because of which they look completely different from each other. Some would be lighter, some darker and some brighter. The intensity of the colors should ideally be the same otherwise they would not look good together. Try to choose the colors with same undertones and also check whether they look good in the kind of lighting available in the house. White and amber light can bring a lot of difference in how a color is perceived.

Becoming an interior designer is certainly not an easy thing. You have to be a leader, a multitasker and even a bookkeeper. Hence, the chances of making mistakes are very high. If you are a newbie interior designer, you should definitely think about getting the most suitable ideas for your clients. However, lack of experience might make you commit a few mistakes. Below, we are discussing the points where new designers go wrong. Keep them in mind while you are decorating your new project.

Make your own choices

You should not let anyone make choices for you, not even your clients. Your home is the best place for you to start your first design assignment. You would definitely not consider someone else’s opinion while decorating your home, isn’t it? You need to adopt the same approach for all your projects as well. Trust yourself and your skills. Of course, you can ask people for suggestions if you are stuck between options. However, the final words should always be yours.

Decide the color theme first

It is quite possible that you don’t get fabrics and curtains in the color of your choice. Usually people think that painting their home first is a bad idea and they should focus on buying upholstery first. However, this is also not the best approach for you. Instead of choosing a single color for the theme, choose multiple colors that would match with each other and still create a decent look. This would help you a lot in creating a good décor. You should be ready for surprises like these as the suppliers and contractors might not have what you want at all times.

Don’t use paint chips to choose colors

Most people think that they can choose colors by looking at paint chips in the store. This could be the worst way of choosing colors. The fluorescent lights of the store might make you believe that a color would look good on your walls but that is not necessary in your house. The lighting conditions are very different there. Therefore, instead of looking at the colors in the paint store, better paint a small mat or cardboard and hang it on the walls which you want to paint. It would give you a clear idea of how the color will look on the walls. Ensure that you use your own paint templates in order to decide the theme colors for your clients. As a designer, you need to have an exceptional sense of color.

Keep swatches with you

You should never decide what you want to buy in the store. Instead of this, you should be keeping your own folder full of swatches with you and check whether any of these swatches can be used in your design nicely or not. When you bring these swatches to the client’s home, check them out in the lights available in these places. It would be easier for you to decide what to choose and what to neglect in such a case.

If you are a newbie interior designer, then you must already be overwhelmed with the kind of work that you have to do. There are so many new clients coming up with many different requirements. However, you don’t know what to do with these requests. The most difficult question that needs to be answered by you is related to the theme of the interior design. Of course, people have a lot of concepts in their mind. You might have your own ideas related to your space. So how does it become possible for you to define the best design for a space? We will find out next.

Where does the confusion lie?

The real confusion begins because of the client. Are we serious? You have already learnt that the client is never wrong and you need to do whatever the client wants. However, when you start to work, you realize that the client is always ‘almost right’. Most of the clients don’t even know what they are looking for. Some of them have had a good look at the ideas available online. They feel that the fancy ideas available on the internet can be realized in their homes very easily. Obviously, this is never the truth. Your job as an interior designer is to find out the best option for the client and tell him your point of view as well. Of course, you should try to incorporate his ideas into your design as well. However, make sure that the design idea suits the space.

So what is the right way to go?

As an interior designer, your first preference should be studying the space. Check out the dimensions of the space, make appropriate sketches and find out the peculiarities of the space that can be utilized by you in order to bring design brilliance to your home. Then you should be utilizing your knowledge in order to find the best designs and concepts for the space. It is at this time that you should talk to the client about his needs. Clients usually do not have a certain theme or idea in mind. However, they would definitely tell you about what they like or dislike or if there is something specific that they would want to see in that space.

Include these points by the client in your design. Finally check whether the space that you have created really matches with the personality as well as the needs of the client. If yes, then go ahead and start designing and decorating the space. In order to avoid any kind of conflict later on, you should make sure that you involve your clients in some of the decisions of interior designing and show him that you are really working in his benefit. As long as your client has confidence in you, you will be able to provide him a great result. However, if he does not believe in you, then chances are high that he would create problems in the end. So make sure that you focus on design concepts that include some of your client’s ideas as well.